Burari deaths murder not suicide, say relatives

According to sources, the cause of the deaths according to the initial postmortem reports is hanging.

Ambulances wait to take the bodies of eleven members of a family who were found dead in their house in Burari, in New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

HIGHLIGHTS

Relatives have denied religious or occult motive for the Burari deaths

Post-mortem of 10 deceased confirm cause of death as hanging

Handwritten notes which bore similarities to how the bodies were found were unearthed by police

A relative of the Burari family, whose 11 members were found dead on Sunday, has denied an occult angle to the deaths and called it a murder as told to ANI. She said the family was peace-loving and did not believe in spiritual gurus.

Someone killed them and all the reports on spiritual angle are bogus. This family was a happy and peace loving one who never believed in 'babas': Sujata, relative of the family who allegedly committed suicide in Delhi's Burari yesterday. pic.twitter.com/sgQrZJgWSP

Another relative, Ketan Nagpal, whose maternal grandmother was among the dead, has also suspected foul play. He also reiterated that "they were educated people and not superstitious".

He said it was a prosperous family.

"They were not facing any financial issues and had not taken even a single loan. Everything was fine. Why would they kill themselves?" he said.

Nagpal contended that even if they had to commit suicide, they would not have covered their faces and taped their mouth.

Another relative said they had spoken to the family on the day of their death. They sounded "normal" and did not show any signs of depression, he added.

"The family did not have enmity with anyone. But we suspect someone killed them," he alleged.

"They believed in God but who believes in such things (referring to handwritten notes talking about salvation)," said one of the relatives.

The latest development in the shocking deaths is that post-mortems of 10 of the 11 dead have been conducted. Post-mortem of the last body is been conducted at the moment.

Ten members of the were found hanging, while the body of an elderly lady was found with her throat slit.

According to sources, the cause of the deaths according to the initial post-mortem reports is hanging. Police have said that the death of the elderly woman, Narayan Devi, who was found on the floor, was also the result of partial hanging. They have said that no stole was found wrapped around her body but a belt was found near the place where her body was discovered.

Additionally, no signs of struggle or injury have been found on any of the bodies. The internal organs (viscera) of the victims have been preserved and sent for further examination.

Only the eyes of the six bodies that were examined yesterday could be donated, the others could not be donated due to delay in the post-mortem.

Eleven members of a family were found dead in north Delhi's Burari on Sunday morning. It is still to be ascertained whether it is a case of suicide or murder. The bodies of the women and children were found hanging with their hands tied, blindfolded and mouths taped. The eyes on the male bodies were covered with cloth. The bizarre nature of the deaths has raised several questions.

Later in the day, in a shocking revelation, a number of handwritten notes were found which pointed towards the family's spiritual/mystical tendencies. Coincidentally, the notes bore a resemblance to the way the hands, mouths of the family members were tied.

(With inputs from Arvind Kumar Ojha and Chirag Gothi from New Delhi and PTI)